Tory MP Nusrat Ghani told Boris Johnson she was sacked as minister for her 'Muslimness'

However Ms Ghani, who has today claimed she was sacked as a transport minister by a Tory whip over her faith, did not do so.

Quoted in the Sunday Times, Ms Ghani said “Muslimness was raised as an issue” and she was told her startus as a Muslim woman was making colleagues “uncomfortable”.

She said: “It was like being kicked in the stomach. I felt humiliated and powerless.”

Ms Ghani, 49, the MP for Wealden in East Sussex, said she kept quiet at the time after being told she would be “ostracised” and her career “destroyed” if she spoke out.

She said: “I was told that at the reshuffle meeting in Downing Street that ‘Muslimness’ was raised as an ‘issue’, that my ‘Muslim women minister’ status was making colleagues uncomfortable and that there were concerns ‘that I wasn’t loyal to the party as I didn’t do enough to defend the party against Islamophobia allegations’.

“It was very clear to me that the whips and No 10 were holding me to a higher threshold of loyalty than others because of my background and faith.

“In the following weeks, I was informed that if I persisted in raising this that I would be ostracised by colleagues and my career and reputation would be destroyed.”

The allegation is the latest in a growing list of claims levelled at the Tory whips in recent days, including bullying, ‘blackmail’ and threats to withhold public funds from constituencies as part of an operation to shore up Mr Johnson's premiership.

The explosive claim brought immediate condemnation from Tory MPs and opposition parties alike, with Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi leading demands for an inquiry.

“There is no place for Islamophobia or any form of racism in our Conservative Party,” Mr Zahawi tweeted. “Nus Ghani is a friend, a colleague and a brilliant parliamentarian. This has to be investigated properly and racism rooted out. #standwithNus.”

Although Ms Ghani did not identify the whip, chief whip Mark Spencer last night identified himself as the person to whom she was referring, but vigorously denied the claims.

“These accusations are completely false and I consider them to be defamatory. I have never used those words attributed to me,” he wrote on Twitter.

“It is disappointing that when this issue was raised before Ms Ghani declined to refer the matter to the Conservative Party for a formal investigation.

“I provided evidence to the Singh Investigation into Islamophobia which concluded that there was no credible basis for the claims.

“These claims relate to a meeting in March 2020. When Ms Ghani raised them she was invited to use the formal CCHQ complaints procedure. She declined to do so.”

Ms Ghani met Mr Johnson to discuss the issue on 1 July 2020, and on 10 July he wrote to her  suggesting she begin a formal complaint process.

A Number 10 spokesperson said: “After being made aware of these extremely serious claims, the Prime Minister met with Nusrat Ghani to discuss them. He then wrote to her expressing his serious concern and inviting her to begin a formal complaint process. 

“She did not subsequently do so. The Conservative Party does not tolerate prejudice or discrimination of any kind.”

Deputy PM Dominc Raab said the claim was being taken extremely seriously and urged Ms Ghani to make a formal complaint if she felt able to do so.

Unless she did so there would be no “specific investigation” into her claim, he said.

“He (Mr Spencer) has categorically denied it in what can only be described as the most forthright and robust terms indeed,” Mr Raab told Sky News.

“If there are any claims like this they should result in a formal complaint which allows a formal investigation to take place.

“As the chief whip has pointed out, Nus hasn’t made a formal complaint. She was asked to do so. In the absence of doing so there will be no specific investigation into this.”

Labour said the Tories should have an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in the party.

MP Emily Thornberry said: “I know Nus Ghani… I have always found her to be a deeply serious and principled individual. When she makes an allegation like this, I believe her.

Speaking to Times Radio, she said the Tories “just don’t take Islamophobia in their midst seriously”, adding: “I would like to see an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in the Tory Party in the same way that we quite rightly held an independent inquiry into the poison that is anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.”

Lord Sheikh, president of the Conservative Muslim Forum, has said he was “horrified” by the claims made by Ms Ghani and called for an investigation.

Speaking on Times Radio, he said: “If these allegations are true then it’s totally inappropriate, in fact I was horrified to hear that she was sacked in 2020 because of her faith.

“I’m really, really disturbed by these comments, and what we need to do is to undertake an investigation into what really happened.

“Mark Spencer has denied that this has happened, so somebody is not telling the truth.

“An investigation must be carried out by an independent person. This is very, very important.

“I’ve been a member of the Conservative Party for over 15 years and I’m president of the Conservative Muslim Forum, and any Islamophobia, any discrimination in the party is totally unacceptable, and I think we need to get to the bottom of what happened.”